KILBUCK AND AHKLUN MOUNTAIN BIRDS 



59 



tion) on 24-26 July 1981 . We saw two birds at Goodnews Bay on 23 July 

 1974. It was an uncommon-to-rare breeding bird in the northern Kilbuck 

 Mountains; they nested at the Tuluksak River (scolding adults, DNW 

 photo) and possibly at the Salmon and Kisaralik rivers. Two to four pairs 

 nested each year near lacustrine waters or slowly flowing beaver ponds 

 in dense spruce or spruce-poplar riparian areas at the Tuluksak River. 

 We found pairs with small young at the Tuluksak River on 24 June 1974 

 and 26 June 1978; adults were seen until 10 August 1977, and immatures 

 were present until 5 August 1962 and 24 August 1974. 



Wandering tattler (Heterosceltds incanus), Uspm, FCsr, Ufm 

 (14 May- 5 September). Specimens: WFB863, RMS 1962/36/1 3, 

 RMS1962/36/14, RMS 1974/ 119/09, RMS1974/1 19/10, 

 BMNH/83sk/DNW13, and BMNH/ 83sk/DNWl4. 



Tattlers nested in the Kilbuck Mountains, probably nested in the 

 Ahklun Mountains, and migrated along the coast. We found nesting birds 

 at the Salmon and Tuluksak rivers (DNW photo), and they probably 

 nested at the Kisaralik and Togiak rivers; birds were found in summer at 

 the Eek (R. Baxter, unpublished) and Kanektok rivers (White and Boyce 

 1978; M.J. Fry, unpublished; J. L. Hout, personal communication). Birds 

 were also found at the Kisaralik River on 19 and 24 August 1985 

 (M. Brown et al., unpublished). 



Pairs of wandering tattlers were 90-300 m asl (once at 500 m) along 

 shores of streams usually >9 m wide. Tattlers were usually fairly common 

 at the Tuluskak and Salmon rivers, but in 1986 they were exceptionally 

 scarce with only one bird seen on each river. Densities were greater in 

 riparian mine tailings than in comparable undisturbed river shingles on 

 the Tuluskak River; we found 0.6-2.5 broods per km per year in riparian 

 mine tailings, and 0.6 broods per km per year along undisturbed river 

 shingle. Birds may have nested in more wooded tributaries adjacent to 

 larger streams, as adults frequently escorted small young from smaller 

 streams to main streams. At the Tuluksak River, we collected two adults 

 with incubation patches on 1-2 June 1962, found pairs with small young 

 between 27 June and 6 July, found fully feathered chicks on 10 July 1962 

 and 21 July 1976, and last saw young between 15 and 20 August. We 

 found fledged young at the Togiak River on 6-9 August 1976. 



We found birds at Goodnews and Chagvan bays in spring and fall. 

 During spring migration at Cape Peirce we saw one to two birds between 

 14 May and 12 June, totaling seven or fewer observations each spring. 

 D. F. Parmelee and J. M. Parmelee (unpublished) saw single birds on 23 

 and 26 May 1987 at Chagvan Bay. D. R. Herter et al. (personal communi- 

 cation) found a tattler at Cape Peirce on 6 June 1984. Birds were at Round 

 Island between 14 and 23 July 1974 (T. J. Eley, unpublished), and one 

 was there on 14 July 1977 (P. D. Ameson and D. B. McDonald, personal 



